Rising Mortgage Rates Push Buyers Toward Less Expensive Homes

Rates for 30-year-fixed mortgages rose to 4.08 percent last week, rising half a percent in less than a month.

A Redfin survey revealed how potential homebuyers will react to rising rate. The site, which polled 2,415 users who said they would soon buy a home, found that 46 percent of respondents said that they would “look for a less expensive house” if rates increase by one point or more. Only 7.5 percent said they’d give up on a home search all together.

Even with the hikes, rates remain historically low.

“Most buyers are looking for a home because of their personal economy, such as an expanding or shrinking family, or a job relocation, rather than only because of the broader economy,” said Redfin real estate agent Danielle Field in Louisville. “Yes, a few people will be kept from the market because of interest rates, but for many people moving homes just isn’t something you can time to the market like the buying or selling of a stock.”

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